I think I've only ever had one bad experience speaking to a customer service representative. (They transferred me from the correct department to one which couldn't help me, and it took another two transfers to get back to where I started.) But every time I talk to one, I'm surprised by how helpful they are.
Most CS agents are used to dealing with dumb and/or abusive callers. Simply being polite, intelligent, and patient will generally get you good service. I've found this true pretty much ANY time I am not asking for special dispensation and/or trying to get around policy, though :)
Information that surprises you is interesting as it exposes where you have been miscalibrated, and allows you to correct for that.
I suspect the users of LessWrong have fairly similar beliefs, so it is probable that information that has surprised you would surprise others here, so it would be useful for them if you shared them.
Example: In a discussion with a friend recently I realised I had massively miscalibrated on the percentage of the UK population who shared my beliefs on certain subjects, in general the population was far more conservative than I had expected.
In retrospect I was assuming my own personal experience was more representative than it was, even when attempting to correct for that.